LETTER: Have your say on CCG survey form

Having read the headline ‘Doing nothing is not an option’, I turned with interest to the relevant pages expecting a well reasoned explanation.

However there was merely a repeat of the fact that something needs to be done to provide high quality health care in the district.

Nobody would argue with that and naturally when asked if they want ‘joined-up’ services and improved GP facilities everyone will say yes. The question whether they want their GP to be easily accessible or in a shared out-of-town facility does not appear to have been asked however.

We are given figures for the number of patients currently registered with each of the town centre practices. The tone of the reports rather implies that all these patients are appearing in all of the surgeries every day; this is obviously not true.

As one of the ageing population who apparently is causing so many problems, I visit our surgery for the annual ‘flu vaccination which is carried out by the practice nurse, and very rarely to consult our excellent GP. I cannot be the only person to whom this applies.

It is true that we need health facilities to cater for those moving into the new estates spreading around Horsham but this could be dealt with by the current town centre surgeries having a satellite base in Broadbridge Heath. Merely moving the surgeries will not in any case help if there are not enough GPs and nurses to staff the facilities.

I would encourage everyone concerned about this matter to complete the CCG survey, which has, unlike some online surveys, plenty of space for comments.